Michael Whelan

More than 200 weapons have been taken off the streets as a result of a guns amnesty held by Northamptonshire Police.

Last month, the force launched the first guns amnesty it has held since 2003.

Insp Sarah Johnson, of Northamptonshire Police, with some of the weapons handed in during the amnesty

After the two-week amnesty was completed, the exercise was deemed to be such a success, it was extended to last an extra week.

Now the amnesty has come to an end, a total of 177 guns have been collected along with more than 100 knives and a considerable amount of ammunition.

Inspector Sarah Johnson who led the amnesty said: “We’ve been really pleased with the number of weapons that have been handed in during the course of the amnesty.

“We didn’t expect to see as many firearms as we have but I think that shows how much support we’ve had from residents in making this amnesty a success.”

Weapons which have been recovered by officers include 31 shotguns, 17 revolvers, 14 replica guns, 34 blank firing guns, which could easily have been converted to fire, a machine gun and a bolt gun.

Other items have included knives, a samurai sword, 40 air rifles, 21 air pistols and three rifles.

The majority of the weapons will now be destroyed, however a small number have been saved for further examination and some will be made safe and preserved because of their historical relevance.

The amnesty was designed to give people the chance to surrender unlawfully held guns, ammunition, replica guns or air weapons. People were also given the chance to surrender lawfully held items which were no longer wanted.

Inspector Johnson said: “If anybody hasn’t handed in a firearm and they still want to do so, they can call us on 101 and we will be happy to discuss the safe collection of that item.”